Scott Coker Lays Out Plans For Big Fights Under Bellator Banner

“My plan is to go from a tournament format to a more traditional format, to more of a superfight format,” said Coker, in his first day at his new job after what he described was a very quick negotiation period. “We will do tournaments when the situation makes sense. I think a tournament can make sense, but it has to be the right time and the fighters have to be right.

“The mission is to showcase the best and most exciting MMA fighters in the world and a have a place where advertisers will be proud to be along with us.”

“The job is very clear, it is to put the big fights on Spike TV and move the needle as best as we can.”

“I got a call from Kevin very recently. We sat down and talked. When I look at Bellator, they have a great team in place, great fighters, great TV platform. There is a commitment to MMA at Viacom. This might be a good place to reboot, to start Bellator 2.0. That was really it. The commitment they had made me feel like I should go for it. This has been a martial arts journey for me. I spent my whole life dedicated to martial arts, doing martial arts, teaching martial arts, and promoting martial arts. I did miss it. My golf game improved, but retirement is overrated and keep that in mind. I loved what I did. This is my 31st year in the business.”

“To me, my vision is more continuity. Maybe not every week, but build big superfights, As far as the season, I think it should be a year-round sport. It shouldn’t have a season, but that’s something I have to sit down with Kevin and Bellator. I’ll have a better understanding tomorrow.”

During a recent conference call, new Bellator president Scott Coker layer out his immediate plans for the struggling MMA promotion.

Can Coker right the ship or is Bellator too far gone?